Android Basics – Stock ROM

This post is my next addition to the series of small posts under the name “Android Basics” where I explain general Android Terms which may confuse people who are new to all this (Android).

In this one, I’m gonna talk about Stock Rom.I will be explaining you all about what Stock Rom is along with its advantages, disadvantages along with usefullness in worst case scenarios.

What is this Stock ROM ?

For understanding Stock ROM, first of all you will have to understand what is a ROM…

A ROM in Android is completely different from the ROM(Read Only Memory) term used commonly with computers.That is some permanent (kind of !) piece of memory with some very important data(BIOS in PCs) but here the term ROM refers to the firmware(software) of your device. You know that you have a software in your smartphone that makes it function , uses the hardware part and coordinates function throughout the smartphone. Whenever you do something like make a call , play a game, watch a video or even when the phone is idle, the software inside is functioning to make all that happen. So the entire software of your phone is together so called the ‘ROM’. Yes ! its nothing of that Rocket Science or something, it’s as simple as that , ROM = My Phone’s Software. These softwares have existed in our phones right from Nokia days, but the term ROM is very specifically used for Android-Powered phones.

Now you know what ROM means , and I’m trusting your vocalbulary to assume that you already know what does the word “Stock” means.

So Stock ROM means the Stock Firmware(or software or ROM) that came pre-installed in your device from the manufacturer itself. If you are reading Android Basics post right now, then that most probably means that what you have on your phone is stock firmware.

Now always remember that this Stock ROM is put into your phone by the manufacturer itself , which is why they differ from manufacturer to manufacturer.You could have seen it yourself that how the UI(User Interface) of Sony , Samsung, HTC etc are so different from each other.

Thus, Stock ROM is the factory version of the software that ships along with the phone itself.

Since, after the above post you now probably have a good idea about Stock ROM, we can move on to its disadvantages & advantages…

Advantages of Stock Rom :

1.) Bug Free– Since the ROM is being supplied by the manufacturer itself, it is completely stable and free from most bugs.Although there may be some bugs but they are usually fixed with a update.Moreover, the company runs a number of tests onto the ROM to make sure it is user friendly & easy to use.

2.)Freedom of speech (LOL !) – If you face any problems or glitches with the firmware, you can simply put it on the face of company and it would be the company’s moral responsibility to solve this to keep their reputation up.( Noone would buy a phone from them if they cannot even solve their own problems)

3.)Special Features– You get to enjoy some special feature apps from the company, for eg. in my Zenfone 2 Laser smartphone, I have an app named something like “Laser Ruler” , using that app I can get accurate distance measurements and it uses the laser present in my smartphone’s camera to measure this distance.

4.)Software updates – You get timely updates for new security bugs which are discovered by security researchers. You may also get a newer version of Android , if your company releases them for you.

5.)Optimization– These ROMS come pre-optimized for best performance and decent battery life.So generally they are fast and fluid.

Disadvantages of Stock ROM :

1.)Bloatware– I would say this is the biggest cause why people tend to dislike Stock ROMS, I will cover the term bloatware in another post but for now Bloatware=Pre Installed Company Apps (Which Are Mostly Non-Removable ). What the manufacturers do is that they place certain apps in your phone which are non-removable by user.They eat-up memory , ram and user’s mind !!!

These bloatwares pose a serious problem for the user particularly because they are unnecessary and un-useful and just sit in your phone doing nothing.For eg, in sony we have Sony Select (or somehing like that, I don’t remember the exact name) and in Samsung we have a app named “Samsung Apps” both of which do nothing except for showing the Play Store links to their own apps.Now think yourself , Would you like to have a app in your phone which does nothing except for showing links to some other apps ?

Hell Nooooo !

2.)Low RAM availability – I already told you that the manufacturers brand the phones Stock ROMS, infact some of these User Interfaces are so heavy that in a 2 GB RAM phone, only the user gets only 900-1.2 GB of RAM . Aren’t you hating it already ?

3.)Low level of customization– Mostly they offer very low level customization in the phone as compared to Stock Android (Non modifed version of Android, comes with Android One & Motorola phones only)

4.)No Android Stock Experience– Sometimes the UI offered by the manufacturers is so crappy, that you can’t bear to look at your own phone.(Personally I hate lenovo UI)

5.)No Root Access– Most Custom ROMS offer you with Root access while Stock Rom does not.This prevents you from using the core functionality of your phone.

These were some of the advantages & disadvantages of Stock Rom, you can think of hundreds of advantages & disadvantages yourself.This post was just to clear your basics about Stock Rom, which is the sole purpose of Android Basics series of posts.

Have a nice day !

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